1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toilet seats. More particularly, the present invention relates to toilet seats including lowering and lifting mechanisms assisting a user when engaging and disengaging a toilet.
2. Prior Art
Lifting toilet seats have been provided by artisans wishing to address problems some persons may have in using common toilets. A common toilet is designed to accommodate healthy persons in a sitting position. Persons wishing to use a toilet generally start from a standing position and sit thereto on a toilet seat. While most would not pay mind to this relatively common act, many persons are disabled in a manner which prevents them from doing so without great difficulty.
Consequently, inventors have set forth and applied their skills in an attempt to solve this problem. Among those, that can be found is the inventors of U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,703 a powered toilet seat lift. The device employs fluid power cylinders to lift a seat vertically from a toilet bowl. The complex arrangement is not easy to install nor to clean and may be expensive as it requires a great deal of specialized materials and equipment. Alternatively, Hydra-Commode Lift Services Inc. teach a hydraulically activated device to raise a person from a toilet. The device is primarily concerned with lifting large loads and is therefore designed with special features which may address those problems. Again, the device may serve well its main purpose, but it requires a complex machine and installation which might not suit all facilities. The elderly particularly have a difficult time installing such devices and would likely find this machine cumbersome.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,327 a chair having a seat which operates to lift its user therefrom is disclosed. Inventors Ward et al., also disclose a toilet seat which is designed with the intention of aiding one's use of a toilet. U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,617 shows a detailed presentation relating to a tilting seat driven by hydraulic pressure. Finally U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,085 shows another technique for employing fluid power to urge one from a sitting position.
Notwithstanding, applicant has developed novel toilet seats in combination with stored energy devices, particularly to assist persons, especially the infirm, elderly, or otherwise disabled, as they use toilets.